Tech Tips

Rigging
a World War I Aircraft

C'mon people, rigging a WWI airplane is not rocket science, and
takes no more modelling skill than filling a seam! You can do
this! Rigging Truthfully, rigging an airplane is not difficult. It
is time consuming and tedious.

First...

First you need a plan. You should have a rigging plan in place
before you even start construction of the model so you can pre-drill
holes and plan for obstruction problems. Study the instructions
carefully and figure out where every rigging wire needs to go. Each
kit will be different and will have a different plan. I use three
basic rigging techniques (and all were used in this model):

Straight wire/stretched sprue

“Pull tight rigging"

“Shrink rigging”

You can use different rigging techniques on he same model, as shown
here.

Stretched sprue

The straight wire/stretched sprue method is very simple, just cut
the wire to length and glue in place with white glue. Take a pair of
dividers and measure the approximate length needed, dry fit in
place, and trim to fit. I use straight wire of .006 diameter
exclusively as I can’t stretch sprue worth a darn.

I really try to avoid this method since it is not very strong and
wire is relatively expensive, however most modellers I know use this
method exclusively. I'd still fall back on it when it would not be
easy to use the “pull tight” or “shrink” methods. Typically, it
would be on the landing gear bracing.

Pull-tight rigging

My favourite rigging method is the “pull tight” technique. I use
.006-fishing line painted silver and use a "through-hole" rigging
method with a “start hole” and “exit hole”.

Most of the time my
“start hole” is used on the top wing and “exit hole” is used for the
bottom wing so these holes are not easily viewed. I basically drill
a hole with an #80 bit (the smallest, about .0135) only part way
through the wing (“start hole”) and all the way through the wing at
each of my rigging exit points.

Holes for rigging wires were drilled out prior to assembly and
painting. Note that the start holes run only half-way through the
wing profile, thereby leaving the upper side of the wing intact.

I try to minimize the number of exit
points and run as many lines through them when possible. After
securing one end of the wire to a partially drilled hole (not all
the way through) (“start hole”) with superglue, I then run the line
out through the “exit hole”. I weight the end of the line with a
pair of hemostats to pull tight by letting it hang down (see
picture) and apply a
small drop of superglue to secure it. Let cure for about 30 seconds
and then unhook the hemostats and proceed to the next wire. Repeat
until done!

After letting the entire rigging cure for at least an
hour, I then take a brand new Exacto blade and trim flush with the
wing surface. I then sand the exit holes flush and apply a spot of
touch-up paint to cover. I also will sometimes cover the exit holes
with small pieces of scrap P/E brass.

I also use this method for
running the control wires to the elevators/ailerons. In that case
there is no “exit hole” just pull the wire tight against the control
horn and secure with superglue. That's it, simple, cheap, and fast.
In addition, it also provides a small amount of structural
integrity.

I can rig a whole airplane in under an hour! Can't do
that with wire or stretched sprue!

Shrink rigging

The “shrink” method is used when it would not be practical to use
the “pull tight method”.

This technique also uses a “start hole”
drilled partially through the object and an “exit hole” drilled all
the way through. In this case though, the “exit hole” typically
enters the fuselage. Again, painted fishing line is used and the end
is secured to the start hole with superglue. The wire is then
threaded through the “exit hole” and left as tight as possible.
There will be some slack in the wire, but try to minimize it as much
as possible. Secure the “exit hole” wire with superglue and let cure
for about an hour.

Now for the miracle of modern science, to tighten
the wire! Fishing line has the same property as stretched sprue in
that if heat is applied it will shrink. I use a soldering iron as my
heat source since it provides a consistent amount of heat in a small
area. Others use cigarettes, incense sticks, burned out match tip,
heated nail, or any other scheme that can provide heat to a small
area. Using the heated tip of my soldering iron, I wave the tip
gently under the wire (careful, don’t stay in one place too long or
you will melt it!) and it magically tightens.

Experiment with all three of these rigging techniques to find the
one(s) that best serve your modelling needs.

n

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